Because of interference, congestion and signal issues, users of a wireless network often experience degradation of services over the wireless network depending on where they are located while accessing the wireless network. Currently employed wireless network installation and validation methods are often inadequate identifying the causes of wireless network degradation, or in aiding with the design of wireless networks in a building to reduce network degradation. The inability to identify and correct network degradation can negatively affect a wireless network user's quality of experience and can therefore result in excess service and repair visits, customer dissatisfaction, and customer turn over.
Proper placement of wireless transceivers such as Wi-Fi™ access points, gateways, routers, repeaters, range extenders, as well as the user devices in a building or premises can improve wireless network quality of service. However, the currently available systems and methods for placing such wireless devices often result in inconsistent or poor quality of service levels across a building or premises. Such methods are often driven by a desire to select the most convenient location for the wireless network access point and a presumption that it will adequately serve all desired user wireless network devices within the premises. This method of locating wireless network access devices does not take into account interference or attenuation caused by the building or other devices in the building, and therefore often results in poor quality of service. Further, existing wireless network devices are not targeted or configured for wireless network testing, but are configured for wireless network usage only. There exist some wireless network testing devices, however the use of such devices requires that a technician walk to each location within the premises served by the wireless network to validate the wireless network quality of service. This is particularly problematic where the premises are a multiple story building, such as a home or a small office. If the quality of service is unacceptable at any location in the premises, technicians must move the wireless network access point, repeater or range extender to a new position or install additional such devices at new locations that are presumed to increase network performance. The technician must then repeat the entire quality of service validation.
Current wireless network tester devices are also limited as they do not allow the installer or technician to select either an initial location or a secondary position for the access point and other wireless network devices based on objective performance criteria that can be used by the installer to maximize network performance, minimize network cost, or meet other criteria for the network.
As such there is a need for a system and method that can be used by an installer or technician of a wireless network as an aid in the design, testing and installation of the wireless network device layout in a building or premises based on objective criteria measuring the performance of the wireless network in serving wireless devices within the building.